
Interview with award-winning Broadway producer Ken Dingledine
Today we take you to meet Tony Award-winning Broadway and West End producer Ken Dingledine. He’s known for his work on productions like "Titanic the Musical" and "Moulin Rouge The Musical." Recently, he has been involved in the Taiwanese musical "Don’t Cry Dancing Girls", which is set to debut on Broadway in late January. FTV reporter Stephany Yang sat down with Dingledine to learn more about the show and his vision for the future of Broadway shows.
Ken Dingledine is a renowned Broadway producer with over 30 years of experience in theater production and licensing. Recently, he has been involved in the Taiwanese musical "Don’t Cry Dancing Girls." The musical has already captivated audiences in Taiwan with sold-out performances and now it will make its debut on Broadway at Theatre Row on 42nd Street from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25. This is the first Taiwanese musical to debut on Broadway.
Ken Dingledine
Broadway producer
In any type of theater work, the story is so important. Telling a good story and one that is relatable is key. When I saw this show, I fell in love with the message of the show. It is about family relationships. It is about love. It is about guilt, and how we deal with our families. Those are so universal and it is something that when I watch the show I could only think about my own family.
This musical tells a story of three sisters from Yunlin, Taiwan. It explores themes of family, love, loss, as well as the traditions of Taiwanese funeral rites. The first version of the production set to debut on Broadway will be performed in Mandarin and Taiwanese, with an English-speaking narrator and subtitles. Dingledine is working to help the US audience connect with the Taiwanese production.
Ken Dingledine
Broadway producer
The show here is written for a Taiwanese audience. The writers are Taiwanese. The composers are Taiwanese. It is pretty much written for that audience. We are now going through what I would call a new development process. In its next chapter how do we take this show and make it work for an audience in New York. Language of course a big part of it but also the cultural references may evolve to be a little bit more understandable for markets in the West. Humor is a big part of this show. This show is wildly funny. How do we connect with the audience to understand and to get the humor. These are just some of the processes we are going to go through. It is pretty much a redevelopment of the show. We expect this to continue to evolve. The next version or iteration that we will do in the U.S. will be a fully English-language version of this. We will get through the translation process, the cultural translation process so ultimately, I would see this in a full English language production.
Born into a musical family, Dingledine has been immersed in theater since childhood. With over 30 years of experience in Broadway, he has brought several well-known musicals to the stage, including “Titanic the Musical,” “Moulin Rouge” and more. Dingledine is optimistic about the future of Broadway and sees great potential in Taiwan growing its presence there.
Ken Dingledine
Broadway producer
The market is growing. More tickets were sold to a Broadway show last year than any year previously. It is a market that the future is becoming younger frankly. We see more influences from the pop music scene, in shows that come from anime or shows that comes from other cultures. We are seeing more of that in the Broadway space. We expect that evolution to continue. The set design, those type of enhancement elements, can come but the first goal is to tell really good stories. There are great stories coming out of Taiwan and that is what we really need to encourage.
Dingledine is bringing Taiwan’s first musical to Broadway, and he hopes to continue to bring more content from Taiwan to the world.
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2025-01-14